I recently helped Lee Kum Kee organise a media tour to their Headquarters in Hong Kong as well as to their largest plant in Xin Hui, China as part of my work. The media members from Singapore & Malaysia were invited on the tour. The main aim of the tour was to highlighting the quality standards set by LKK in ensuring their products are of superiority. At the same time, it also serves as a familiarization tour to understanding the brand better. The members of the media from Singapore and Malaysia were shown the LKK's technology, facilities and diversification of the business towards health products (Infinitus). The members of the media were given a guided tour around the Tai Po plant in Hong Kong, the Xin Hui plant in China as well as the Infinitus plant in Xin Hui to have a comprehensive understanding on the manufacturing of Lee Kum Kee products and Infinitus' health care products.
Day 1
The Singapore media departed from Changi International airport led by Lee Kum Kee's Regional Marketing Manager – Danny Khoo and myself. We arrived an hour before the Malaysian team due to the different flight origin. Despite the 1 hour wait, Lee Kum Kee took great care in ensuring the media were provided with light refreshments upon arrival. The Lee Kum Kee bus was on standby at the airport and the bus driver was very helpful in getting all the suitcases on the bus. There were 6 journalists from Singapore and 9 from Malaysia. Salina & Associates PR also managed to secure a TV station on this trip for an exclusive coverage.
Upon arrival at the Marco Polo Hong Kong hotel everyone's luggage was swiftly taken care of by the hotel while everyone was led to a restaurant for refreshments and a briefing of the entire trip. The media kit was handed out the journalists and everyone was assigned their rooms. After the briefing session it was a free evening for the journalists to walk around the streets of Kowloon. Dinner was buffet at the hotel and all the journalists who dined were only required to charge their dinner back to their hotel room.
Day 2
The second day started early for the TV crew as they had to shoot Lee Kum Kee's Culinary Artist Ms. May Lau demonstrating 3 dishes using the 2 new sauces. The TV Crew was at the Tai Po office as early as 7.00am for the shoot. The rest of the media had breakfast at the hotel before we adjourned to the Tai Po office. In Tai Po everyone was greeted by the Executive Vice-President of Corporate Affairs Mr. Leslie Fung and was immediately brought on the tour around the plant. Members of the media were brought to view how Lee Kum Kee monitors the production chain remotely. One of the main highlights of the trip which was the quality control was demonstrated by the media visiting Lee Kum Kee's laboratory. Ms. Biggar Cheung the Senior Q&A Manager gave a very good and in depth explanation on the stringent controls practiced at Lee Kum Kee. She also explained on how blind tests are usually conducted on a periodic basis ensure quality standards are met.
Giant Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Sauce bottle
Adjourning to the auditorium, the members of the media were shown a magnificent video which explained the history of the brand in a brief and non-conventional manner.
Lunch was an eye-opener for the media as everyone was allocated a seat with their names on a place card. Instead of just a normal place card Lee Kum Kee made an effort to further highlight about the brand with fast facts about the brand written on the cards. The group was split to 2 tables with the media, PR representatives and LKK Team evenly spread out to ensure everyone gets a chance to mingle.
Place card with my name and fast facts about Lee Kum Kee
Presentation of the food was brilliant and the taste was of course excellent considering that it was prepared with Lee Kum Kee products by a reputable Chef. Lee Kum Kee also arranged for their Culinary Artist, Ms May Lau to explain as each dish was served. She did a great job by explaining the products used in each dish as this helped show the media members the versatility of the sauces and products Lee Kum Kee has to offer. A nice touch to the lunch experience was also a overnighter bag provided by Lee Kum Kee for the media in anticipation of the next day's journey to China. Half way through the lunch, the Lee Kum Kee team switched tables in order to allow the media to have casual chat with the key personnel of Lee Kum Kee. Present at the lunch was also the COO of Lee Kum Kee, Mr George Tsang.
A media Q&A session followed immediately after lunch and the media members were given a chance to ask questions in a formal setting. This was a good arrangement as the environment was conducive and everyone got the chance to table their questions. Answering the questions from the media were the COO – Mr George Tsang, Executive President of Corporate Affairs – Mr Leslie Fung, Regional Marketing Manager – Mr Danny Khoo and Regional Manager – Mr Leong Chee Kang.
Fun was the next order of the day where the members of the media got to view Ms. May demonstrating live a few dishes and a special plum sauce drink but their culinary skills were also put to test. During the demonstration the media had a field time snapping away at the finished dishes and also tasting them.
(L-R : Stir Fried Lily Bulbs with Mushrooms, Stewed Beef in Jelly, Seafood Chowder, Classic Chop Suey and Kung Pow Tofu with Cashewnuts)
Following the demonstration the members of the media were divided into 3 teams of 4 members comprising of 2 from Malaysia and 2 from Singapore. Everyone put on aprons and they were all in for a cooking competition. An array of perishables and Lee Kum Kee sauces were available for the teams to choose from. Each team was given 30 minutes to discuss, prepare, cook and garnish their dish for the competition. It was sheer fun for everyone in action with some preparing the garnishing, while others were cutting the meat/vegetables and the more adventurous ones volunteered to be the chef for the team. All the teams performed well hence everyone was a winner in their own right and were presented with a gift each from Lee Kum Kee.
(From T-B : Selection of items, Team 1, Team 2 and Team 3)
Leaving the Tai Po office after 5.00pm, the group headed to the Hoi King Heen Restaurant in Intercontinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong for dinner. After a 45minutes journey from Tai Po in the drizzle the group arrived at the hotel for the dinner. Most of the journalist weren't hungry and in fact they were very full from the abundance of different dishes which they were served throughout the afternoon at the Tai Po office. Majority of the dishes served during the dinner were not even half finished as the journalist only sampled the dishes instead of really eating it for dinner.
A dish worth mentioning was the Beggar Chicken. Unknown to some, the process of retrieving the cooked chicken was quite an experience. Some of the journalist even tried their hand at smashing the packed salt which sealed in the herbed chicken.
Chef Leung
Everyone had a pleasant surprise when the Head Chef Leung Fai Hung at the Chinese restaurant appeared to personally prepare the dessert for everyone. The dessert was certainly awesome and it was 1 dessert which none of the media members have ever tasted before. After the dessert was served, Chef Leung stayed on to explain about the current eating trends. He also patiently answered the many questions put forth to him, in the most professional manner. After a very long day everyone was sent back to the hotel to rest for the next day's journey to Xin Hui, China.
Day 3
Everyone was punctual for the next day's trip to Xin Hui. Members of the media were given the option of leaving their big suitcases behind under the safekeeping of the hotel. PR helped the client ensure that the suitcases were properly tagged and kept before departing for the 3 and a half hour long bus journey. Water was made available on the bus for everyone. Going through 2 immigration checkpoints was a must but the process went on smoothly but with a slight glitch with the cameraman getting "stuck". Mr Leslie Fung was quick to jump in and assist by helping the cameraman answer some queries by the customs officer.
Upon arrival at Xin Hui everyone was taken to the Xin Hui Phoenix Hotel's Chinese restaurant for lunch. Yet again the lunch was a lavish affair with an array of dishes served. After lunch the visit to Lee Kum Kee's largest plant in the world kicked off. The group was warmly greeted by the Lee Kum Kee team in Xin Hui and everyone grouped for a photograph at the entrance to the huge plant.
The plant visit kicked off with an introduction of the plant by the Plant Manager. The entire process of making soy sauce was explained thoroughly before everyone was brought out for the tour. As the plant was so big we had to travel from one section to the other in the bus. Staying in line with the global trend of going green and preserving the environment waste treatment was also something the media got to witness. Besides waste management, Lee Kum Kee also showed they used solar energy to generate heat which was part of the required process in sauce making. With the use of solar, Lee Kum Kee saves by using less coal in generating heat.
We were also brought to see a beautiful garden which was within the plant. The garden was created with the workers in mind. Lee Kum Kee wanted to create a good working environment for their staff hence the garden was a recreational area where they could relax in between work. A large dining hall which sits not too far from the garden was the cafeteria for the staff and could fit in 1000 people at a single sitting. We were also shown the warehouse where all ready products were kept before they are sent off to the trade.
A trip to a plant is certainly not complete without seeing the product being packed. At the packing section of the plant, the media were shown how the Lee Kum Kee products are being packed and how there was no requirement of handling of the products before they were packed. Only after the products are individually packed and sealed only we got to see some handling of the products by the workers whereby they were arranging the cartons of packed products. This clearly shows that the possibility of human contamination was basically at 0%.
At Infinitus
After the plant tour in the sauce factory, the media were brought to view the adjacent plant which is also owned by Lee Kum Kee group, the Infinitus. Upon arrival at Infinitus the group was warmly welcomed by the team from Infinitus. It was a short tour to allow the media an insight to the diversification of Lee Kum Kee group's business.
(T-B: Entrance to the ancestral hall, Shan of NTV7 demonstrating his drumming skills, standing at the ancient bell)
The group was also brought to view the Lee Man Tat Secondary school before visiting the ancestral hall of the great people of Xin Hui. At the ancestral hall, Mr. Lee senior was recognized as one of the notable people of Xin Hui who has brought great development to the province.
The group adjourned back to the hotel for check in and to freshen up before dinner. Dinner was at the Chinese restaurant of the Royal Hotel which was beautifully perched on a hilly area. The view was pleasant and the food was needless to say, superb. Everyone had a great dinner. Some journalists who researched about Xin Hui before the trip came across a famous local produce, the dried mandarin orange peel. Lee Kum Kee being very obliging host took the effort to bring the journalist to the shop to get the orange peel while the rest of the journalist were sent back to the hotel. The rest of the night was free and easy for everyone. Some took the opportunity to walk around at the nearby shopping centre while others chose to stay back in the hotel to rest and some even went for a relaxing massage before calling it a night.
Day 4
As early as 8.30am, the eager journalists were seen having their breakfast and some finishing the breakfast. Everyone was eager to head back to Hong Kong as they were looking to explore and shop around Hong Kong. The journey back to Hong Kong was pleasant with no hiccups. Upon arrival at the hotel the Lee Kum Kee team swiftly arranged for the rooms allocation. Before everyone left for their room the Lee Kum Kee team from Malaysia bade farewell and individually thanked everyone for joining the trip. Being typical Eastern cultured people, the team too took the opportunity to apologize for any short comings of the trip.
The rest of the afternoon and till the check out at noon the next day, everyone went around by themselves. All the journalists were given a small sum of Hong Kong dollars at the start of the trip and this was to compensate them for the meals which were organized.
(Kowloon, Hong Kong by night)
Day 5
(With Anthony)
At check out, Anthony Chan the Corporate Affairs Manager ensured that all bills were settled and everyone was safely on the bus before he left. At the airport the Malaysian team immediately checked in upon arrival while the Singapore team had to wait for their flight which was an hour later.
On the whole, verbal feedback gathered from the media members were that it was a very well planned media trip put together by Lee Kum Kee and everyone enjoyed themselves. The food served throughout the trip was excellent and carefully arranged to incorporate the different Lee Kum Kee products. As a host Lee Kum Kee did a great job by ensuring everyone's needs and requirements were well taken care of.
